David Larson knew the exact dimensions of my tumor at diagnosis, which was 6.8 cm x 3.6 cm x 5.3 cm. So, he took my MRI from the 38 Lemon website and blew it up to scale. From there, he was able to get the various dimensions and contours needed for this replica. The chosen wood is "spalted maple." This wood is most often used for fine pens and has multiple layers of colors, ranging from rings of dark brown to much lighter tans to colors inbetween. The dark brown in the spalted maple comes from a period when this part of the wood was actually rotting. Perhaps this makes spalted maple the perfect choice for this subject matter since brain tumors involve the permanent transformation of healthy brain tissue to cancerous brain tissue.
